Spessartine Garnet with Smoky Quartz and ''Hyalite'' Opal (ex Chet Lemanski Collection)

Item Description

A wonderful small cabinet sized specimen from the famous Wushan Mine featuring gorgeous, razor-sharp, rather lustrous, rich red colored trapezohedral crystals measuring up to 7 mm associated with dark, prismatic crystals of Smoky Quartz on cream colored Microcline matrix. If you look closely there are patches of "Hyalite" Opal (it's now called Opal-AN) on the back of the piece, which glow a BRIGHT GREEN hue under ultraviolet light. The Spessartines sparkle like jewels with some good backlighting, as many of them are virtually water clear, and the excellent crystallization makes for a very enjoyable viewing experience with some magnification. No major damage that I can find, and just a wonderful piece of these classic Garnets. I love the fact that the Garnets are brilliant, sharp and smooth - no pitting or dull faces anywhere. Garnet is a well known mineral, but you have to keep in mind that it's quite rare to find fine quality Spessartines on matrix from any locality in the world, let alone fine gemmy crystals on matrix like this. Retail value on this one is $1,400. From the collection of Chester ("Chet") S. Lemanski Jr. of Browns Mills, New Jersey (https://www.mindat.org/user-461.html). Collection #20992CL. Chet was born 1947 in started collecting minerals circa 1957. He worked briefly as a drill runner at the famous Sterling Mine, in Ogdensburg, New Jersey and from 1987 to 1990 he helped convert the mine into a public access mining museum. He has held the role of treasurer, vice president and president of the Franklin-Ogdensburg Mineralogical Society (FOMS), and has been a board member and vice president of the Franklin Mineral Museum. The rare copper arsenate, Lemanskiite was named in his honor in 1999.